Ethical Concern That May Arise When Using the Above Methods

Psychology Concepts Psychology is a term derived from two Greek words that translate to life explanation, which makes it an important element of daily life. The field of psychology can be described as a discipline that focuses on the study of mind and behavior (Stangor, 2010, p.7). This discipline is characterized by several concepts and approaches that are used by psychologists in understanding human behavior. Since psychology is a broad field, psychologists not only use these concepts and approaches but also conduct scientific research that enables them to understand human behavior.

Some of the most common psychological concepts that are used to modify or change an individual's behavior include operant conditioning, positive and negative punishment, and positive and negative reinforcement. Operant condition can be described as a learning method that is used to modify or change a person's behavior through experiences and consequences. While it is part of the process of conditioning, this method of learning is different from classical conditioning in terms of its emphasis on reinforcement and punishment to modify behavior.

The subsequent behavior from this learning method functions on the environment and is sustained by experiences and consequences. Generally, the method is used to change behavior through establishing a specific goal, evaluating behavior, reinforcing desired behavior, and punishing undesired behavior. The ethical concern that may arise from the use of this method is that an individual is likely to be discouraged from attempting to do a certain task when he/she knows that he/she will be unable to complete it and get a reward.

A real life example of operant conditioning occurred recently in our home when my little was rewarded by my parents for performing well in her final exams. Positive punishment is one of the major aspects of operant conditioning that is used to weaken an undesired behavior. This method is used to modify or change behavior by attempting to stop an undesired behavior from happening in the future through providing an unfavorable event or result after the occurrence of the unexpected behavior.

An example of the use of this method is when my friend was recently grounded by his parents for misbehaving in school. While positive punishment helps in modifying behavior, it may cause an individual to be embarrassed and contribute to other negative behavior, which is a major ethical concern. On the contrary, negative punishment is a method that also contributes to weakening a behavior though it lessens or eliminates something pleasant (Stangor, 2010, p.205).

It involves taking away something desirable or good from an individual in order to discourage him/her from engaging in a particular behavior. For instance, one of my classmate's phone rang in class despite being told by teachers not to bring our phones to class. Consequently, the teacher took away the phone from my classmate in order to discourage that behavior. The ethical concern that may emerge from using negative punishment is that it does not teach the victim of undesired behavior how to change his/her behavior.

Positive reinforcement involves strengthening or fostering desired behavior through the addition or increase of a pleasant incentive. Positive reinforcement tends to be a more effective means of behavior modification that the two types of punishment. The addition or increase of incentive when using positive reinforcement is geared towards encouraging the occurrence of the behavior in the future. For instance, positive reinforcement is used by an organization's management when they give their employees bonuses for improved performance.

The ethical concern from this method is that a person may exhibit unwanted behavior if he/she is not rewarded for a specific behavior that he/she expected some incentives for. On the contrary, negative reinforcement also strengthens or fosters desired behavior but involves lessening or eliminating an unpleasant outcome or incentive. In essence, a certain behavior is.